NATO foreign minister debated Thursday that the U.S. demands to increase defense investment to 5% of GDP over the next seven years as the U.S. focuses on security challenges outside Europe.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said during talks in Antalya, Turkey, that more investment and military equipment are needed to deal with the threat posed by Russia and terrorism, but China has also become the focus of the United States.
“When it comes to core defense spending, we need to do more,” Rut told reporters, stressing that once the war in Ukraine is over, Russia can reorganize its armed forces within three to five years.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that “the alliance is only as strong as the weakest.” He insisted that U.S. investment demand is about “spending money on the capabilities needed to threaten the 21st century.”
The debate on defense spending heats up ahead of the summit of U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO rivals from June 24 to 25. This is an advanced party that will set courses for future European security, including Ukraine.
In 2023, as Russia enters its second year of all-out war against Ukraine, NATO leaders agree to spend at least 2% of GDP on the defense budget. So far, 22 of the 32 member states have done so.
The new spending plan under consideration is a target of 3.5% of all allies’ defense budget by 2032, and an additional 1.5% on potential defense-related things like infrastructure such as roads, bridges, airports and seaports.
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While these two figures total as high as 5%, infrastructure and cybersecurity considerations will change the basis for NATO's traditional calculation of defense spending. The seven-year time frame also meets the general standards of the league.
Rutte declined to confirm the figures being considered, but he acknowledged that it is important to include infrastructure in the equation, for example, make sure the bridges, yes, you and I can drive our cars there, and also make sure the bridges will hold tanks. Therefore, all of these expenses must be taken into account. ”
Germany said on Thursday that it supports Trump's demand.
“We are paying attention to him (Trump), which is the clear commitment of the United States to NATO Article 5,” said new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.
It is difficult to see how many members will reach the 3.5% target. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain have not even spent 2% yet, although Spain does hope to reach that target in 2025, which is the year of the deadline.
The demand in the United States will require investment on an unprecedented scale, but Trump’s doubts about whether the United States will defend its allies that spend too little remains a motivation, even as European allies realize they must match the threat posed by Russia.
Industry leaders and experts across Europe pointed out that the challenge that the continent must overcome is truly self-sufficiency military power, mainly due to decades of dependence on the United States and its dispersed defense industry.
“There are many threats to us,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, who urged his NATO partners to achieve their investment goals faster than the 2032 goal, “because we see the pace and speed, how Russia produces its power as we speak.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his country should reach 2.5% by 2027 and then get 3% in the next British general election scheduled for 2029.
“It is very important that we turn to Europe's defense and we fight alongside our American partners in this challenging geopolitical moment, and there are so many valuable moments in the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
As an organization, NATO has no direct security role in Asia, and it is unclear what the Trump administration demands from its allies as it shifts its attention to China. The last NATO security operation outside the Atlantic Europe (which had been in Afghanistan for 18 years) ended in chaos.
–Cook reports from Brussels, Ankara, Turkey
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
